Holiday Gift Guide: Periscope Studio Sketch Cards

When it comes to the holiday gift-giving season, comic book readers are notoriously difficult to shop for. I mean, most of us are down at the shop buying our favorite stuff every single week, so when the time comes for people who like us to get us something we want, well, a lot of times we already have it. That’s why we’re stepping in with a public service, bringing you comics-related items sure to make the season brighter, whether you’re browsing for a gift or just looking for something to drop hints about so that you don’t get stuck with a random assortment of back issues again.

Today, we’re looking at sketch cards from Periscope Studio, truly unique, truly awesome original art that you can pick up for not a whole lot of money!

In last year’s gift guide, I talked about how Original Art is, in a lot of ways, the perfect gift for a comics reader. It’s completely unique, it’s hand-crafted, and there’s a connection to the characters and creators that they love built right in there. But for those exact same reasons, it’s often pretty expensive, whether you’re looking at pages from the actual comics or commissioning pieces from artists.

That’s why it’s nice to find something that’s in a bit of an easier price range, and the sketch cards that Periscope Studio is selling on their Etsy page fit the bill perfectly. They might be small (if you’re not familiar with ‘em, sketch cards are exactly what they sound like: trading-card sized pieces of Bristol board that artists sketch on), but they look great, and they clock in at ten bucks. At that price — and for pieces that look this good — there’s no reason to not just grab as many of ‘em as you can for everyone on your list.

There’s another advantage, too: Unlike commissioning a piece (which, don’t get me wrong, is a great way to do things), Periscope’s sketch cards are done and ready to go now, along with other, pricier pieces, by artists like Steve Lieber (Hawkeye), Jonathan Case (Batman ’66) and Ben Dewey (Tragedy Series), and more, and that’s just what’s up there right now. As far as talent goes, Periscope’s bench runs deep, and since we all know ’tis the season for the gifting of original art, there’s bound to be more going up all the time.

I mention Periscope because it was Lieber’s work that caught my eye a few days ago while I was getting started on my own shopping (and because of the staggering roster of talent they have up there in Portland), but they’re not the only ones doing original art at super-affordable prices, either, and you can find a lot of it on Etsy. Just search for “Sketch Cards” and see what strikes your fancy!

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